2016 is of course an Olympiad Year, and although official details have not been released, a number of countries are already getting organised. New Zealand seems to be one of the first off the mark, with their selection application period closing towards the end of last year! PNG is already sorting out its team, and I suspect a number of Oceania countries are in the process of picking and.or organising qualification events.Of course one of the games that is fun to play in the lead up to the Olympiad is to see how close the bid that was accepted 4 years ago matches the conditions actually offered. On a number of occasions venues have changed (eg Spain 2004) or budgets cut (Dresden 2008) and what was agreed to earlier is no longer the case. To help out anyone interested in making a comparison, FIDE have helpfully posted the successful bid document from Baku. Of major interest to developing countries is the $1,500,000 travel fund which will go a long way in assisting countries sending teams. It was certainly a big help in 2014 and contributed to the record field that played in Norway.2016 Chess Olympiad
Source: Chessexpress